Ponderable polemics, poetic

WordPress site of poet Mark Lucker

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  • Vagaries

    Researching family historycemetery recordsreveal something new to mesingular stone in row of infants my surnamemy initialdate of birth, death – samea bitterly cold Minnesota Friday, 1914Born, died on the sabbath.Sensing my father’sheretofore unknown cousin I dig deepermicrofisched state archiveslocate the records andstunning revelation:parents’ names.My grandparents.Thus, I have found the grave of my father’s two-years-older brother… Read more

  • Newest Testament

    ‘Show me your papers’ a once cartoonish phrase from many a World War II movie butMinneapolis is notsome war movie in anyclassic cinematic senseonly in real-world applicationreal life villains under guise of legitimacysent by other villains hellbent on retribution for political sins of decency, empathydemocratic norms and ever waning freedomswhile those comprising the‘We voted for… Read more

  • Now showing

    We watched the same videosI saw murderyou recognized ‘stupid bitch’We watched the same videosI saw murderyou criticized his carrying a gunWe watch the same videosI see peaceful protestorsyou label singing marchers‘violent agitators’ We watch the same videosI see smashed car windowsdragging people though themgross overreachgovernment sanctioned chaos, intimidationlicensed carnage unethical, immoral at every turn you… Read more

  • Unsung resistance hero #333

    The clerk at Speedway gastwenty-three, finding his way paying his bills, nonplused bydaily c-store customer bravadofront-door panhandlersdrunks, stoners, general crankshappily suffering fools all sources of intoxicationQuiet Wednesday, mid-afternooncommotion at the pumpsimmigration commandos trying to fuel their vehicles beset upon by yellingwhistle-blowing, horn-honkingneighbors, legal observersraising a ruckus, officer’s iresinister looks as agents eye theircolleagues working pumpsA… Read more

  • Talking ‘bout my generation (in less than complimentary ways)

    My generation has failed this country How we emerged from the sixtiescame of age inthe seventies morphed as a wholefrom justice-seekingto profit makingabove all by holding tight to old waysold men‘leading’ us This is what has gotten us to where we are nowWe should have jettisoned them all those old men likethe dried, used upold… Read more

  • The Poet Takes His Meds

    I recently had a ‘heart procedure’doctor clearing out nearly blocked arteryeliminated offending clog with a new stentNow I take medication to keep my blood thinnerflowing more freely The med’s name – clopidogrel – amuses me greatly asI have composed plenty of doggerel inmy many years ofwaxing poeticBut knowing nothing of pharmaceutical naming conventions Ihave to… Read more

  • Beings, being

    I was once hanging out with an eclectic group one of whom casually asked if any of us believed in ghostsbefore I could answeranother said “Not ghosts, but angels”bringing awkwardnessblank looks all around While I couldn’t see myself I like to think I was more contemplativethough it got me pondering whysomeone would staunchlybelieve in one… Read more

  • Pseudo 23

    Modern-day Psalmistsplying their trade via pithy sayingsbasic fonts, splashy backdropsportmanteaus of varying interpretation revelationsshifting dunes rounded byprevailing winds as arid, accepted gospellacking lyricism posted for the world byself-anointed prophetsclaiming persecution, occasionally lapsing into lamenting angstbitterly masquerading as witpleading cases to merciful gods/laptop Pharisees issuing agreeable protestationsnever to grasp ‘liking’ is not prayerweeping ideograms donot denote… Read more

  • Ghosts of Niemöller

    First they came for the immigrantsAnd I did not speak out Because I was not an immigrantMy ancestors were, but that was differentThen they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Even though America is kind of socialistBut real socialists are evil – so they sayThen they came for the trade unionists… Read more

  • Mapped. Out.

    Our path to perdition startedat not eating French frieswound through calling gasoline ‘freedom molecules’imagined ‘wars’ on Christmas, culture veering torepeatedly shooting upcases of light beer light-on-logic moves, each For the past few generations Americans have done more of their critical reading in supermarket checkout lines than libraries Eliminating our nation’seducation department only completes the process… Read more